NOTRE DAME AVOIDS DISASTER

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said earlier this week that his players don’t care what other people think of them. Raise them high or shoot them low, it doesn’t matter.

Yeah, right.

We’re not convinced, not when every snap of the ball helps determine your fate. Not when the best story of resurgence this season lies in how you play. It meant a whole lot in a win on the road against Oklahoma last week. It meant even more in a 29-26 come-from-behind triple overtime victory against unranked Pittsburgh Saturday.

Down 14 at the end of the third quarter, fourth-ranked Notre Dame fought back to save the game, save the season and save the hopes of those longing to see the Irish back in what was once their rightful place on the national football landscape.

The Irish are 9-0. That, Kelly says, is what his team cares about. As it should.

Not only is a BCS bowl berth in the Irish’s grasp, a spot in the national championship game is still in play. The Irish are at Boston College next week, home against Wake Forest and then on the road against rival USC.

Before they could look at those prospects, they first had to deal with a Pittsburgh team entering the game with a 4-4 record. The Panthers’ leading running back, Ray Graham, and leading receiver, Devin Street, were charged with simple assault this week. Yet, they were not suspended.

That meant Notre Dame would get the best Pitt had to offer—and it was plenty in three overtimes.

“I’m so proud of our team,” Kelly said on television immediately after the game. “They kept fighting. We were down and things didn’t look great. And they persevered and found a way to win; three overtimes. That’s good stuff.”

After safety Elijah Shumate drilled Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri on third down, Pitt had to settle for a 41-yard field goal from Kevin Harper. Notre Dame responded with a 37-yard field goal by Kyle Brindza to tie it, 23-23.

Irish running back Cierre Wood was an inch away from crossing the plane on their next possession, but fumbled in the end zone. Harper’s 33-yard game-winning field goal for Pitt narrowly missed, sending the game into overtime No. 3.

Harper’s 41-yard field goal in the third overtime made it 26-23, Pitt.

Notre Dame, with Everett Golson leading the way, drove the ball on the Panthers. Golson got the ball to within an inch then finished it on the next play, forcing his way behind the line into the end zone to seal the game.

Earlier in the game, Golson had been benched and replaced by Tommy Rees. Golson could’ve sulked, and maybe he did a bit. But it didn’t last for long. It couldn’t.

“He utilized all of the things that he has,” Kelly said of Golson’s running ability. “He was down, but we told him he’s gonna have to go back in there and help us, and he did. He came back and played really good football.”

The theatrics Notre Dame can undoubtedly do without. But with them—it also beat Stanford in overtime—you know the Irish are gaining confidence, strength and favor among pollsters. You know they are getting closer to a goal that was well out of reach just a year ago.

Even if getting there won’t be easy, Notre Dame looks every week to be more up to the challenge. This game proved that.

LOUISVILLE FLYING TOWARD BCS BERTH

With three Big East games remaining on its schedule, Louisville has its sights set on a perfect record and a BCS bowl berth.

It’s all within reach for the 12th-ranked Cardinals, who are 9-0 for the first time in school history after a 45-17 victory Saturday over Temple.

Still left for Louisville are games at Syracuse, home against Connecticut and on the road Nov. 29 against a one-loss Rutgers team that is yearning for its own BCS ticket.

First things first, though, for Louisville. That means another stellar performance from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The sophomore completed 19 of 28 passes for 324 yards and a career-high five touchdown strikes.

After Temple got on the scoreboard first with a 93-yard kickoff return by Matt Brown, Louisville responded with a touchdown pass from Bridgewater to Eli Rogers. Montel Harris, the Boston College transfer, scored on a 5-yard run for the Owls. It would be the final TD for Temple, which managed only a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter the rest of the way.

The Cardinals went on a 28-point run, including TD passes twice to Andrell Smith and once to DeVante Parker to end the third quarter. Bridgewater gave way to backup Will Stein late in the game.

Louisville’s biggest challenge moving forward will be finding a way to slow the running game of its opponents. Temple rushed for 255 yards—an average of 5.9 yards per carry. The Cardinals entered the game yielding an average of 205.6 yards per game. Southern Mississippi (224), South Florida (195) and Cincinnati (196) all ran the ball successfully against Louisville’s defense.

Rutgers had a bye week Saturday and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Last week in a loss to Kent State, Scarlet Knights’ quarterback Gary Nova threw six interceptions. Cincinnati, which lost to Louisville last week for its first Big East defeat, avoided an upset at the hands of Syracuse, winning 35-24.

GARDNER RULE

Devin Gardner is no Denard Robinson.

Not yet, anyway.

Gardner was once the nation’s most highly-regarded dual-threat quarterback recruits. Then, he found at Michigan himself behind Robinson, one of the best running-passing QBs the country had ever seen. So slight were Gardner’s chances of seeing the field, he moved to receiver this year and had caught at least one pass in every game this season.

Last week, Robinson was knocked out of the Nebraska game after aggravating a nerve injury in his elbow. Gardner hadn’t taken a snap at quarterback in practice in goodness knows how long. An overwhelmed Russell Bellomy entered the game and was disastrous: His first 10 passes were incomplete and he finished the 23-9 loss to the Cornhuskers with an abysmal stat line of 3-for-16 with three interceptions.

While Robinson tried to get himself ready for this week’s game against Minnesota, he didn’t come along fast enough. In stepped Gardner, who played the best game of his career as a Wolverine.

Gardner completed 12 of 18 passes for 234 yards with two touchdowns and only interception in the 35-13 victory for the Little Brown Jug. In the 6-4, 203-pound junior, Michigan might have found next year's starter.

It was like fresh air for Michigan, which had gone two games without a touchdown. Michigan’s scoring drives: 91, 90, 86 and 79 yards, showing Gardner was in complete control of himself and the offense.

Every expectation is for Robinson, who is completing 53.6 percent of his passes, to resume his role as the starter next week when Michigan plays host to Northwestern.

NEBRASKA IN CONTROL

One play separated Nebraska from a ho-hum season and one that could land the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten Championship game. And who knows what can happen from there?

Is this relative newcomer to the Big Ten on its way to the most prestigious game the conference has to offer in the Rose Bowl? With a 28-24 last-gasp victory over Michigan State, Nebraska has a far clearer path to the Legends Division title. Wisconsin will be the Leaders Division winner.

Taylor Martinez passed to Kenny Bell fell incomplete late in the game, but Spartans’ defensive back Darqueze Dennard was called for pass interference. Given another chance, Martinez hit Jamal Turner on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 6 seconds left.

Nebraska is tied with Michigan in the Legends Division, but the ‘Cornhuskers beat Michigan last week. Penn State, Minnesota and Iowa remain on the schedule.

NO KLEIN, NO PROBLEM—FOR NOW

Kansas State quarterback left the game in the third quarter Saturday due to an undisclosed injury.

On this night, it made no difference.

The third-ranked Wildcats easily defeated Oklahoma State, 44-30, to improve to 9-0 and make a case to rise in the polls.

On a tackle at the end of a running play, Klein’s wrist bent awkwardly. He played a while longer, but came off the field for good.

Klein left the game with 244 passing yards and 65 on the ground, including one rushing touchdown that made it 38-17 in the third quarter. Coach Bill Snyder afterward did not provide any details about the injury and said he was unsure of the quarterback’s availability for next week’s game at TCU.